


Little Bomb, BIG Boom

by bluejaythebeautiful



Series: (Not so) Weekly Writing Challenge [11]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: And It's Gen, And Peekaboom, Arguments, Axel Is A Little Shit, Bombs, But I Didn't Go That Way, But The Elements Of Rainbros, Contests, Gen, Hey Look I Posted, Mark Continues To Win, Sequel to "Beat Mark Mardon", oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-30 01:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10866501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejaythebeautiful/pseuds/bluejaythebeautiful
Summary: Weeks after Mark beat Axel in that baking-contest-turned-foodfight, Axel has come up with a rematch- explosions. Turns out, his passion still may not be enough to win against the notorious Mark Mardon.





	Little Bomb, BIG Boom

**Author's Note:**

> Week 11 of my (very late) Weekly Writing Challenge!
> 
> Prompt: a story about a contest or competition.

He should have known the contest wasn’t done.

Axel was staring down at him, arms crossed, waiting for an answer.

“What gave you the idea for this?” Mark asked, sitting up. He ignored Roy’s squeak of protest (Mark is warm. Roy gets cold easily, okay?) as he stood, glowering at the younger Rogue.

“I want to make stuff blow up. So why not compare our exploding abilities? Bette can be the judge for this one,” Axel explained, smirking. “Besides, you’re good at baking, and that was the last competition. I’m good at making bombs. It’s the next competition.”

Roy sighed. “And Bette will be the judge… why?”

“She blows stuff up. Duh.” Axel looked around Mark, careful to keep his gaze on Roy’s nose. This wasn’t the time to get whammied, after all.

Mark snapped his fingers, getting Axel’s attention. “Fine. We’ll blow shit up. How long do I have to make a bomb?”

After a bit of thought, Axel shrugged. “A week. I’ll go easy on you, and you can get a little bit of help. Not too much, though. You gotta do the actual work.”

“Go easy on him?” Roy asked, finally standing. “Why did you say that?”

“Because I’m actually a  _ nice person _ , like, 30 percent of the time,” Axel quipped. “Unlike Marky-Mark here, who refused to help  _ me _ last time. I’m not gonna help  _ him, _ but anyone else can.” He grinned at Roy, who rolled his eyes.

Mark shrugged and began walking towards the garage. “Guess I better get started, huh?” He ignored Axel’s whoop of joy at his statement.

/////////////////////

No less than an hour later, Mark was beginning to regret his decision. He stared down at the pile of parts he had stolen from Hartley, with no idea how he could put them together. The only thing he had managed to do was put batteries in the timer.

“Having trouble?” Bette asked, walking over. She peered over his shoulder. “Heard about your contest, figured I could help.”   
Mark nodded. “Depends on how much you want to beat that kid into the ground,” he growled, looking up at her.

Picking up a wire, Bette studied it carefully. “Where’d you get this? Looks like computer parts to me,” she wondered.

“Over there.” Mark pointed to where Hartley was frantically searching through his desk, muttering something about “can’t find the right part”.

“Hmm. Not what you need,” she said, setting the wire down. “You’ve got the right idea, though. Bombs are computers, but they’re so much more than that.” She grinned, happy to show off her skills.

Mark sighed, pushing the parts away from him. “Then what do you propose we do?”

Tilting her head, Bette studied him carefully. “How good is your aim? I have an idea.”

“Get me Shawna’s telescope,” Mark said, catching on. “I’ll get the… other component.”

/////////////

“Hey! Mark! Wake up! We gotta go finish what we started!”

Mark jolted awake at the insistent yelling in his ear. “What the hell?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Axel, once again, was standing above him, this time breaking into his room. “It’s 10:00 and I’ve decided that we do this now.”

“Please tell me it’s the morning,” Mark said, his head falling back on the pillow.

“Of course it is, dumbass, we have to see to do this,” Axel snarked, grabbing Mark’s wrist and pulling it. “Get up!”

Mark finally stood, trying not to yawn. “You know I sleep till 12 on Saturdays,” he snarled.

Smirking, Axel nodded. “Yeah, but that’s too late! Besides, it’s fun waking you up. You’re like a bear. All grumpy on the outside, but cuddly on the inside.”

He had to duck to avoid Mark’s fist, but it was worth it.

///////////////////

Raising the binoculars again, Roy tried to see across the field. “What’s taking so long?”

Mark snatched them away, looking through as well. “Dunno. The little shit is a perfectionist, I guess.”

A puff of smoke, and Shawna had appeared with Axel in tow. “I wasn’t ready!” Axel complained, once he was back on his feet.

“Yes, you were, shut up,” Shawna said. She handed him a remote. “Blow it.”

Bette walked over to stand next to Shawna. “Mark, can I have my binoculars, please?” she asked sweetly, holding out her hand.

Mark handed them over, then crossed his arms. “Go on.”

Clicking a button, Axel cackled as the explosion shook the area. Rock flew everywhere, and when the smoke cleared, a crater was in its place. “Tiny bomb, big boom,” he boasted.

“Pretty good,” Bette remarked. “You think you can do better?” She turned to Mark, who shrugged.

“Guess we’ll see.” He walked back towards the truck, and a few minutes later, arrived lugging a propane tank.

Axel grimaced, shaking his head. “That’s no bomb! That’s a-”

“A perfectly good substitute for one,” Mark interrupted. “You said explosion, not bomb.”

Shawna stepped forward and laid a hand on Mark’s shoulder, her other hand gripping the tank. “He’s right, you know,” she said before teleporting away.

Landing on the opposite side of the field, Mark dropped the tank. “I will never get used to that,” he muttered as he adjusted its position.

Shawna laughed. “Everyone says that, yet somehow they do. Ready?”

Mark shifted the tank to the left, then nodded. “Yeah. That should work.”

Smoke engulfed them both as Shawna made the quick jump back. Mark stumbled, trying to catch his balance. “Damn it!”

Roy caught him and helped him stand. “You really have to be more careful,” he warned. He let go and stepped back as Mark took Shawna’s offered telescope.

“Watch this,” he said to Axel as he peered through the scope. Focusing on the disant tank, he narrowed his eyes.

A bolt of lightning struck the tank, making a bigger explosion than Axel’s bomb had. The crater was twice as wide and twice as deep, and it was much smoother than the other one.

“Bigger bomb, bigger boom,” Bette said, mocking Axel. “Mark wins!”

“That’s not fair! He cheated! He used his powers!” Axel protested, voice rising.

“You used your intelligence, what’s the difference? He found his own way of blowing shit up!” Roy pointed out, trying not to smile. “Mark, two, Axel, zero.”

Axel crossed his arms and faced Mark. “Fine. You win again. Don’t think this is over,” he snapped before stalking back to the truck.

“Big baby. Can’t take a loss, can he?” Mark said with a slight laugh. “Whatever. He’ll lose interest soon.”

Shawna nodded. “Yeah, but I get the feeling he’s gonna do something to you before. Watch out for his pranks.” With that, she and Bette teleported away, leaving Mark and Roy alone in the field.

“Well… We better get back before Lisa gets mad. I’ll make sure Axel didn’t mess up the truck,” Roy said, before walking away.

Mark closed his eyes and let another bolt strike, right where it had before. He sighed, letting the power flow out of him, and turned to follow Roy. He tried not to think of what stupid contest Axel was going to come up with next, if he even did, but decided that he would never lose. Deciding that it was a thought for another day, he pushed it out of his mind, and climbed into the driver’s seat. Sleep was his next priority.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know, it's been 2 months since I last updated this challenge. School stuff has gotten in the way, and writer's block has stopped me, even when I had free time. This actually being written was a result of trying to destress, since I have an exam soon for my worst class. Yeah, I wrote instead of studied, but doesn't everyone? No? Only me? Oh well. Sometimes I need to take time for myself instead of worrying about school, and I wish I had learned that BEFORE I was two weeks away from graduating... But, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this thing.


End file.
